Tuesday and starting over
Tell us two times when you had a fresh start
The first time this happened, I was eight years old and my family left the slums of Manila to move south in a small town known as San Mariano. For my parents, it was "fleeing": the gang war in the area was getting out of hand, the place flooded so much, our shanty was in serious disrepair, and jobs were few. For me though, it was "uprooting": I had to leave behind my friends, my school, and what simplicity my childhood had. I didn't want to be the new girl in town, the odd one at the playground sidelines. No one wanted to play with me since I was small, brown, and serious. I did fine in grade school, but I became an outcast in high school since I didn't fit in with the social scene. I hated that move so much that I never really considered that small town home, even if I did eventually make a few enduring friendships there.
The second and more important time that I had a fresh start was eight years later, when I was sixteen years old and I started university all the way back in Manila. I experienced how it was to live away from my family (for a time till I had to move into my sister's apartment), to study something I really loved, and to be in the company of people who could accept me and who I could really respect. For the first time, I walked into a class where I knew absolutely no one, and I was able to make friends without someone turning up her nose at my background. I was able to try out for debate varsity and get in on my own merit without currying the favor of some upperclassmen. I joined an activist group and I made friends with people in various circles. I fell in love for the first, last, and only time. Basically going to university was really the start of the grown-up me: I entered as a little girl with few friends and a quixotic dream of changing the world. I graduated with many friends, as well as better insights and a concrete plan as to how I would make an impact as a lawyer.
The first time this happened, I was eight years old and my family left the slums of Manila to move south in a small town known as San Mariano. For my parents, it was "fleeing": the gang war in the area was getting out of hand, the place flooded so much, our shanty was in serious disrepair, and jobs were few. For me though, it was "uprooting": I had to leave behind my friends, my school, and what simplicity my childhood had. I didn't want to be the new girl in town, the odd one at the playground sidelines. No one wanted to play with me since I was small, brown, and serious. I did fine in grade school, but I became an outcast in high school since I didn't fit in with the social scene. I hated that move so much that I never really considered that small town home, even if I did eventually make a few enduring friendships there.
The second and more important time that I had a fresh start was eight years later, when I was sixteen years old and I started university all the way back in Manila. I experienced how it was to live away from my family (for a time till I had to move into my sister's apartment), to study something I really loved, and to be in the company of people who could accept me and who I could really respect. For the first time, I walked into a class where I knew absolutely no one, and I was able to make friends without someone turning up her nose at my background. I was able to try out for debate varsity and get in on my own merit without currying the favor of some upperclassmen. I joined an activist group and I made friends with people in various circles. I fell in love for the first, last, and only time. Basically going to university was really the start of the grown-up me: I entered as a little girl with few friends and a quixotic dream of changing the world. I graduated with many friends, as well as better insights and a concrete plan as to how I would make an impact as a lawyer.